365 Days
by Far-Away-xx
Summary: After getting control of her powers and rid of a few spare personalities, life seems to be back on track for Rogue. Until something happens a few months later that will keep her occupied for - let's say - about 9 months. ROMY Post X-Men: Legacy #224
1. Feeling Normal

365 Days

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><p>1: Feeling Normal<p>

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><p>This is a Romy fic carrying on from X-Men: Legacy 224 where (at long last!) the Professor helps Rogue control her powers after finding her in Maynard Plains, at the old X-Men base. That issue is a Romy fan's dream, and I couldn't help myself but think this up! I know it was released over 2 years ago, but it's taken me this long to catch up with the series. I feel that I should clarify, in this AU, that is where canon ends. San Francisco remains a safe haven for mutants and the Dark X-MenDark Avengers: Utopia is disregarded. Sticking to it and the new island Scott creates at the end was too limiting, in my mind. _I'm having some problems getting breaks between paragraphs working, no matter how many times I replace the chapter with them in, hence the excessive line breaks. It will be fixed when I can!  
><em>

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><p>The stars seemed brighter in the sky across the plains, she felt like she could feel their light on her skin, cool and soothing. She leaned back on the rock behind her, hands above her head and closed her eyes, a wide grin across her face.<p>

"What'ya tinkin', cheré?"

Rogue opened her eyes at that voice to see a familiar face, red eyes glinting in the dim light as they watched her. He lay down next to her on his side, head propped up on an elbow. She hadn't felt like this in his company since Valle Soleada. "Ah feel so... normal." She sighed at length, "Ah didn't think it would feel so ordinary."

A smirk lit up his face and made her breath catch in her chest. He trailed a finger up the inside of her arm, "I can think of a few things dat might make y'feel special again."

She batted a hand at him playfully, rolling her eyes. "Ah'm serious, Remy. Ah expected it tuh be a conscious effort. Ah thought ah was looking for an _off switch_. Ah never thought that it would be that mah _on switch_ was just stuck."

"What's it like?" The Cajun asked, "To have silence again?"

Rolling onto her side to face him, and relishing in the warm feeling of his touch as his hand came to rest on her hip, she frowned slightly. "Bit of an odd question from someone who's always had silence."

"But a big one, Petit, to someone who hasn't known it in a long time."

"Ah was almost beginnin' tuh forget what it sounds like." She replied quietly, reaching out and fiddling with the collar of his coat, "Ah can't tell yuh what it's like t'hear myself think without there being a reply."

He stroked the side of her face- God, how _right_ did that feel without gloves in-between his fingers and her skin? "Are y' happy, Rogue?"

She didn't reply straight away. "Right now? Ah still got a lot uh stuff to get mah head around... but ah feel like ah could be." Her eyes welled up, "In fact, ah'm sure ah'm getting there, Remy."

"Den I am happy too, cheré. Enough of dem tears, non?" He shuffled forwards and wrapped her up in his arms, closing his eyes and holding her tight. It had been far too long since he had last seen her, let alone held her so close. "Enough of dem tears."

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><p>"Y'sure you wanna come back, Petit?" Gamit asked for what felt like the millionth time as waited to board their flight at the airport. After remaining a few days on the plains, they had decided to go to San Francisco to the new X-Men base, like the Professor had suggested.. "If y' wanna stay out dere for longer I can wait for you."<p>

She smiled and linked her arm through his, "Remy, ah wouldn't be here now if ah wasn't, would I? Chill out."

He noted that she still hadn't taken her gloves off yet but said nothing, nudging their hand luggage forward as the queue moved. "I just don' want y' to do anything y' not comfortable with yet, Rogue. If y' need more time, dat's ok with Remy."

"Quit yer naggin'!" She laughed, "A gal can change her mind, y'know, and ah would miss yuh terribly. Besides, be a waste of an afternoon having got here already." She handed their boarding passes over, sniggering quietly to herself as the attendant looked at the two of them and then gave a second look at Gambit, who winked an offending red eye at her. "Try not to scare the help, sugah." She teased as they passed. "I call shotgun on the window seat."

He shook his head, "Non! Y' used to fly, femme, no fair!"

Turning and batting her eyelashes, she pulled a face, standing in his way "But it's easier tuh appreciate without the cold wind, Remy. You wouldn't deprive me now, would yuh?"

"Oh, cheré, de emotional blackmail is unbecoming on you." Prompted more by the muttering of the people who couldn't get past them than desire to cut short their flirting, he turned her around, keeping an arm across her shoulders. "If y' really wanna talk about cold winds..."

She scowled, "Low blow, sugah. Ah though we were done will all that?"

He gave her shoulder a squeeze and kissed the top of her head lightly, "I kid, Rogue. You can have de window seat. But if I end up next to a lunatic, I blame you, mon cher."

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><p>2 hours in, 12 hours to go. Rogue winced as another peanut bounced off her forehead and glared at the man next to her, who was chuckling to himself next to her. "You'd never know that yoah a grown man, Remy. If yuh don't quit that, ah'm gonna put you out for the rest of the flight."<p>

"Play cards wit Remy, Petit." He held up a deck and gave her a lop-sided grin, "He forgot to bring a book."

She closed her own book with a snap and glared at him. "Yoah a rotten cheat, Remy LeBeau. Ah told yuh before, ah ain't gonna play cards with yuh."

"But cheré, y' so good, I don stand a chance otherwise."

This raised the corners of her mouth, but she was resolute. "Flattery will get yuh nowhere. Don'cha have any other ideas?"

"Many, many other ideas, Rogue. Mostly involving dat bathroom over dere. I jus don think dat dey are appropriate, non?"

Rogue met his eyes and winked. "Interesting as that sounds, could yuh do me a favour?" He nodded, she opened her book again, "Shut up."

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><p>That lasted all of fifteen minutes. "So what are y' readin'?"<p>

Slowly tearing herself away from the book, she met him with a blank look. "A book, Remy. Ah know yoah not fully acquainted with the concept, but in order to read, ah do rather need yuh t'be quiet."

He gave a mock shrug and leaned his head against her shoulder, pretending to try to read it. "No pictures, eh? What's dis book about?"

"Gambit, sugah, if yuh carry on like this ah'm gonna seriously consider hurting yuh." Finger on the middle of his forehead, she pushed him off. "Ah don't know how the Professor put up with yuh comin' out here."

"Easy, Remy remember his book on the way here." He started absent-mindedly dealing a game of solitaire on the tray. "'sides, the Prof doesn't have your sparkling personality."

She tried to concentrate on the page before her, but kept finding herself glancing at the game he was playing, before sighing with irritation and reading the same sentence a couple more times. She was certain that he was playing deliberately badly to draw her in, and it was, to her irritation, working. She snapped the book shut again. "For God's sake, Remy, there's an Ace right there."

"I thought y' were reading your book, Cheré?" He smirked, and began wagging a finger at her, "Now don' you interfere. Y' didn' wanna play, remember?" He looked back at the game and gave an exaggerated shrug and scratched his head, looking for a move. "Now, dere was something Gambit was gonna move."

"Look if yuh just-" She reached out only to have him slap her hand away and cross his arms.

"Could y' do me a favour, cheré?" He snapped dramatically, "Shut up."

Making a noise of indignation, she punched him on the arm. "Yoah an ass, yuh know that?"

He scooped the cards up and began shuffling, grinning broadly. "Does this mean y' wanna play wit me?"

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><p>After several games alternating between beating and playing awfully to let her win, the two slept for most of the flight. When it was announced that they would be landing soon, Remy woke with a start. His cheré was curled up asleep against him under a blanket, her head on his chest and hand tightly closed on his shirt, as if hanging on for dear life. She had looked so peaceful these past nights. What he remembered of her sleeping before was plagued with unsettling dreams of the psyches she had absorbed and had stuck in her mind, and was fretful, restless. He stroked her hair gently with one hand. The quiet was a welcomed change, by all accounts.<p>

Much as he would rather have left her to sleep, he knew he had to wake her. He shook her gently, "Rogue, mon cher, time to wake up."

She gave a quiet groan and nestled closer, moving her gloved hand lower and holding just as tightly. Gambit winced slightly, feeling a stir at her touch, and tried to ignore her hand. "Already, sugah?"

"Already."

With a heavy yawn she sat up and stretched, keeping one eye trained on him. "Hope ah didn't snore an' keep yuh awake. Ah'm so tired, ah dunno why."

"Plenty of time to sleep at de base," He shrugged, "And of course y' didn' snore, Petit."

She didn't reply, and instead busied herself looking out of the window. He could tell that something was bothering her from the way she had started twisting her hands in her lap. He reached across and took one of her hands in his own, giving them a squeeze. "Y' don' wanna go back to de base yet, non?"

Rogue turned back, frowning. "Ah... ah don' think ah'm ready quite yet. Ah thought ah was, but..." She bit her lip and looked down, "ah probably should have thought of this before getting on the plane."

He raised her hand and kissed the back of it, "Rogue, don' fret. Plenty o' places to stay. Remy find us a place. Y' don' have to tink of dat now."


	2. Feeling Fine

365 Days

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><p>Chapter 2: Feeling Fine<p>

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><p>The last one was a bit short, but I am hoping that should pick up a bit. I'm still having problems getting breaks between sections staying put after saving changes, so line-break abuse again, I'm afraid. The next one will not be out too quickly, I'm afraid, as I have exams at Uni until the 7th June. I might get some done before then, but I'm afraid there may be a wait while I frantically do some scintillating linguistics... not that this choice of major seems to help my writing any!<p>

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><p>"This hotel seems a lil' bit pricey, tuh me, Remy. Yoah sure we wouldn't be better off somewhere else?" Rogue asked, looking around uneasily, putting her bag on the bed. They had grabbed lunch at the airport before taking a taxi. "Ah feel like ah shouldn't touch anything in case ah break somethin'."<p>

Seemingly unphased by her worries, he threw himself on the bed with a loud thump and laid back, hands behind his head and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but smiled none the less. "Ah hate to think of the people yoah making pay for this."

"Den don' tink of dem." He gave a nonchalant shrug, "Dats how Gambit makes it through de day." As her eyes widened with horror, he laughed and sat up, "Cheré, dis is comin' out of no pocket but my own. Y' worth more than one of dem shabby places downtown."

She looked decidedly unconvinced and began unpacking her back, fishing out her bag of toiletries, "Ah feel like ah should give yuh some money or somethin' for this... it's sorta 'cause of me, an' all- Christ, this bathroom is _fancy_."

"Remy will do, Petit. What else do I have to spend it on, anyways? I take it y' won' want a 'spensive dinner den?"

Poking her head out from the bathroom, she gave a wicked grin that reminded him just what it was about this _femme_ that made him crazy about her. "Now, Remy. When have ah ever indicated tuh you that ah'm a cheap date? Sugah, when we go out yoah buyin' me the _best._ It's when we're stayin' in ah don't need anything fancy tuh keep me happy."

He could vividly remember nights they stayed in during their time at Valle Soleada . Very vividly. He swallowed and shook his head. That bought around another topic he was hoping not to have to bring up, but knew he needed to. "On dat note I... well-"

"Cat got yuh tongue?" She teased, standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip. "Never known yuh to be shy, Cajun."

"_I_," He said pointedly, "am not. Dat is de point. Cheré, y' sure y' wanted to share a room? Y' know what I tink, but I don' wan' you t'feel pressured."

She came and perched on the bed, reaching out and brushing his hair out of his eyes. It had a tendency to drive her mad, but she'd never convince him to cut it back, even if she wanted him to do it. "Have ah ever been one tuh do somethin' I didn't wanna? Ah appreciate yuh concern, but yuh gotta stop walkin' on eggshells around me..." she leaned in, the air between them was thick, and Remy would be lying if he said she didn't know how to make his head spin, "...'cause ah'm a big girl."

When she stood up, he gave a groan and closed his eyes. "Y' a tease, is what y' are." Opening an eye ever so slightly, he noted she was packing and stood up. "Need any help?"

She stood, gave a heavy sigh and then tipped her bag upside down on the floor. "Yeah, sugah, you can be mah bag carrier. Ah need t' go shopping. Ain't never gonna get mah head around this normal business covered top tuh toe."

"Well, cheré, much as he loves de skin tight clothes, Remy will never object to helping uncover de skin of a belle femme." He smirked and moved around to her side of the bed, "Besides, if we goin' t' de best places, y' need to look y' best."

"Ah don't know whether tuh take that as a compliment or an insult," She put her arms around his neck, "And for that, if the menu is too cheap, ah'm gonna flat out leave yuh there. No pressure." She slapped his cheek playfully and pulled away.

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><p>Bags. Remy had never seen so many bags in his life. He was certain that she would not need to go shopping again for at least the next few years, and that the dent in her bank balance, which she was mysteriously quiet about, but assured him that she had plenty saved for a rainy day, must have been great. He stretched his arms at the thought of carrying them all, feeling slightly restricted by his smarter shirt.<p>

Not that he objected to them. When he first met Rogue, she was all short skirts, cleavage and careful given the opportunity, and thinking of her in the Valle was very much a exercise of will. It was as more and more psyches sectioned off parts of her mind that she started spending more time in her uniform. The clothes were a step in the right direction, but he could see even as she considered a sleeveless shirt or a dress that cut a little higher than her comfort zone, the anxiety and fear of contact remained.

He itched his face. She had insisted he shaved, in her own words she refused to 'dine with yuh lookin' like a hobo'. Tonight, all of that needed to be forgotten. What she needed was a chance to have fun and just be plain old Anna Marie. He suspected that was a part of her reluctance to go back to the X-Men base just yet. They only knew her as Rogue, since she was 13 years old she had only known herself as Rogue. Best to give her a chance to explore a different side of herself, the side he saw in her.

"Do ah look alright?"

Snapping out of his trail of thought, he looked up. "Alright don' cover it, mon cher. Y' stunning."

She smiled and ran a hand through her hair, eyeing herself up and down anxiously. "Lil' black dress and a spot of make-up can do wonders for a gal's self esteem."

He raised an eyebrow approvingly at the curve-hugging dress, and grinned. "Y' don' think dat figure of yours got nothin' t'do wit it, non? Sure y' don' wanna stay in?"

She rolled her eyes and reached for her bag and a jacket. After making a start for the door and stopping, she bit her lip. "Gambit can ah... uh, yuh don't mind if ah wear gloves tonight? Ah'm not sure ah can go without just yet."

Picking the black pair she liked to wear out up from the bedside table, he crossed the room to her and took her hand, swapping them for the ones on her hand. "Cheré, you do what makes you happy. You don' have to ask Gambit."

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><p>It certainly seemed that the night out was making her happy, even in the taxi out, she was talkative, and there was much laughter. It was almost the way it used to be. When they got there, she deliberated over expensive wines and meals before choosing the same as she always chose when he took her out, in spite of his teasing about her being predictable.<p>

"One ting Remy could not predict, though," he sat back, pushing an empty plate away from him and picking up his glass, "Y' gonna tell me where dis money y' got came from?"

The smile she gave was decidedly guilty, and she met his gaze levelly, but with a twinkle in her eye. "Yoah a thief by trade, sugah. Surely ah don't have to explain where _ah_ get money."

He laughed and shrugged, leaning forward, "Are y' saying dat I would be familiar wit de method, or avoidin' de question?"

"Ah am offended by that accusation. Ah am a good saver and ah put it in all the right places." She finished her drink and leant heavily on the table, always easily affected by a couple of glasses of wine. "Where ah got it don't matter."

"Alright den, Remy taken a couple o' jobs recently. Consider it more object retrieval, dese days." He held his hands up, "Difficult for him to get a normal job, non? Don' look properly normal."

Frowning, she reached across the table and took his hand, "Ah didn' mean any offence by it. Ah was a bad girl, before ah met Xavier, ah went where the money was. Just gotta be more careful how ah make it, these days. What ah meant was don'cha ever wanna settle down? Yuh don't wanna do this forever, do yuh?"

He gave her gloved hand a squeeze and downed the rest of his wine, pausing a while before replying.

"Yuh did. Ah'm sorry. Ah shoulda thought- " She pulled her hand back and put it to her face.

"Oh, non! Y' mistake me cheré. He leaned over and took it back in both his own, and smiled reassuringly, "It's jus' difficult t' talk about what I want when y' don' want to talk about us yet."

Her face softened and flushed, and she found herself unable to meet his eyes, "You think about that sort of thing? Ah- well, now ah feel bad for asking. Ah didn't think."

"Look at me, Petit, and I wan' y' to see that I mean this," he said, unphased by her embarrassment. She raised her green eyes to his and felt she couldn't breathe for the intensity of his stare. "I know y' not ready to talk, Anna, but of course I tink about dis. I want you in my future. De rest? I got an idea, but dat can change. An' I don' want you t' feel pressured by dat. It's not all about what Remy wants, non? Y' don' want de same den I will respect dat."

It was almost the last thing she expected to hear from him. Words failed her, and she just stared. She opened her mouth a few times to speak before she managed to say anything, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards as she thought. "You must know I love yuh, Remy. It's not that ah don' want, ah just never thought ah'd _have_. Mah whole perspective is changin', an' that's a big thing for a gal tuh get her head around... but ah can promise that ain't gonna take forever."

He grinned and looked over his shoulder for the waiter. "We got as long as y' need, mon cher. Now, onto de important matters: what d'ya want for dessert?"

"Remy LeBeau, you always know just what to say," she laughed, "Puddin' is a sure fire way to a gal's heart."

Later that night, his third in a row where she had fallen asleep in his arms, and a trend that he hoped to continue, Gambit was sure that he had never been happier in his life. He looked down at the small form sleeping peacefully on him, (in a full length nightie, but a sleeveless one, something he held as a victory), and knew that he would be damned if anyone was taking that away from him.


	3. Feeling Friendly

365 Days

Chapter 3: Feeling Friendly

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><p>Sorry for the wait, I've been trying to get some done for another fic, which is slow going, and I've just finished with exams. Should get more done over the summer than I have this far!<p>

A note on Rogue's age: After some deliberation, since the storyline is based on Legacy, I have gone with Professor Xavier's comment on her age (I can't remember in what issue off the top of my head), placing her at 23/4 (he says something along the lines of after 10 years of living with her mutation). Again, some debate about Gambit's age, but for simplicity's sake I'm going with roughly the same, if a little older. I would imagine personally that they're a bit older, but if I'm basing on a Legacy issue, I suppose I should take the age they're given.

Slight warning for this one, I suppose, but the rating is there for a reason. Again, apparently it won't save double paragraph breaks, so there are excessive line breaks.

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><p>When the time came when they were agreed about heading to the new base, Remy was relieved. Not because he wasn't enjoying spending time with her or because of any particular desire to be back there, but because Rogue had a new hobby that was proving distracting to say the least.<p>

One evening, they were in the hotel room having just returned from a film. He was waiting in the room reading a newspaper while she showered, when she emerged, towling her hair and half dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms and a bra.

"Remy, sugah?"

He looked up, wincing slightly at the visual reminder of everything he would do to that woman given the opportunity. "Oui, Petit?"

"Ah'm twenty four years old. Ah'm in a big ol' city. It strikes me that ah shouldn't be havin' so many nights in."

"And where does Rogue feel like going tonight, then?"

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><p>The answer came, just over an hour later, in the form of a crowded club downtown, generic and modern, dimly lit, music playing at deafening levels. As she led him across the crowded floor to the bar, he couldn't help but to appreciate the short skirt she had on, and notice several others doing the same and follow her ever more closely. He had never considered himself a jealous man, but something half way between being fiercely proud to be with her and knowing that he was hers in every way made him conscious that if she showed even half as much interest in these men as they showed in her, he would be at a complete loss.<p>

"Quit ya sulking, Gambit, yoah here to show me a good time."

He turned from glaring at a man particularly unable to hide his stares and shrugged with a lop-sided grin, "Exactly, mon cher. And Remy knows exactly what dese men consider a good time. Put ya money away, I got dese."

She took the drink he bought her and looked around without addressing that particular idea, instead fiddling nervously with the three-quarter length sleeves on her top. "God, just the thought of these places used to make me feel sick, even in Valle Soleda. Never thought I'd be in one."

"Y'don have to be. You let me know de minute you had enough." He draped an arm over her shoulders, in what he hoped was a casual rather than protective manner.

She swatted him playfully on the chest, not fooled by the meaning of the gesture, "Ah don't mean tuh say ah don't wanna be here. Ah mean it's surreal. Ah'm anxious, but ah guess ah'll get over it. What's yoah problem with this place? You had a face like yoah chewing a wasp since we got here."

"Like I said, I know what dese guys come here for." He squeezed her against him, "An' I like t' keep you all to myself."

Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she downed the rest of her drink in one. "Did yuh used to be one of 'em, eh Gambit?"

"Remy likes to tink dat he is much more subtle."

"'Think' being the operative word, ah bet. Yoah fair hanging off me, Mr Lebeau, ah'm wondering how a girl is to have a good night like that."

"Is dat a challenge, cher?"

She twisted a lock of white hair around her finger and looked up at him from underneath dark eyelashes. "Yuh think yoah up to it, sugah?"

Raising his eyebrows, he gave a wide grin. "We playin' that game now, petit?"

Continuing to play with her hair, she shrugged and looked over her shoulder, unable to hide a small grin of her own. Remy didn't wait for a reply before grabbing her hand and guiding her back through the crowd through the dance floor.

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><p>From that evening forward, they formed a routine which very rarely differed, in spite of their best efforts to avoid the seemingly inevitable end to the evening. Throughout the week, as her confidence grew, the outfits gradually bared more flesh (though not quite reaching the levels of nudity of the other regulars), and rather than tentatively leading her to the edge of the floor, she would pull him in to the crowded center, her eyes alive, the near electric thrill she was getting from her new found freedom and close proximity was intoxication enough for them both, static in the air around them.<p>

He didn't know why he was so surprised at the way she could move, she had a body that was made to be anything but innocent, and as she moved in time with the music, the thoughts running through his mind were similarly far from it. Every curve of her figure was accentuated by the swaying of her hips, her head leaning back against his shoulder, one hand at his neck, fingers knotting in his hair.

At first they stayed just a few hours like this, his pace matching hers the heat rising in both of them where their bodies met, the static building in the spaces between until it was unbearable for one or both of them. On the first night, Rogue stopped suddenly, breathing heavily, and muttered something about needing to get a drink. From then on in, it became a contest to see who could outlast the other, their movements designed to be wholly provocative, pressing harder, lingering longer, hands roaming freely, each determined to drive the other mad.

They would stay late and wake up and lie late in bed the next day, only to do it all again that night and for longer, until one evening, it took a few drinks too many to calm themselves again, and with each drink it became harder to tear themselves away. His stubble brushed against her neck and sent shivers down her spine, and she grabbed his hair a little overzealously.

"Easy cher, Remy don' tink dat bald is a good look"

Rogue was struck in that moment by how much she loved a man with an accent. Specifically a man with an accent who spouted French occasionally. Turning around, she reasoned that it wasn't too different from back home.

"Ah don' know, Gambit, yuh might not look half bad under all that..." she held his hair away from his face and grinned, her hand coming to rest on the side of his face a moment.

"Y' not saying you'd change me now, Rouge?"

Her smile softened. Maybe it was just the strobe lighting or the drink, or the blur of people around them, but for a moment he was the young man she resented so much when she first met him. "Ah'd never say that, Remy."

"Not a thing you'd change, Petit?"

"Not a single thing." She shrugged, kissing him on the cheek.

"Den I hope you'll tink the same when you're sober." He muttered bitterly, nuzzling against her neck, noting that the perfume she was wearing was one that he had bought her.

She scowled and pulled away a bit, "Remy, don't be sore with me, ah don' wanna fight."

"Don' wan' much, do you? Not dat you're gon' admit to, anyway."

Sighing, she made a beeline for the exit, pushing people out of her way as she went. Even without Carol Danvers' powers she was abnormally strong, owing to a rigorous exercise routine. Rolling his eyes, he followed her, apologising to the people left in her wake along the way.

"Rogue. Rogue, wait! Come here!" He caught her by the arm half way down the narrow road the club was on, alarmed to see that she had tears in her eyes.

"What, Remy? You wanna make me feel worse than ah already do? Wanna have another lil' dig and make yourself feel better? Sugah, ah know this is rough for you, but it aint peachy for me either."

"Den why are we here, Anna? What are we doin' in a place like dis? Don' tell me y' didn't tink about where it would lead." She didn't reply, and instead looked at the ground, so he snorted and crossed his arms, turning away.

"You know why."

"Say it."

"Remy, come off it..."

He kicked the curb petulantly. "You're not de only one who could do wit reassurance every now an' den."

Hesitantly, she put a hand on his shoulder and turned him back facing her. Rogue slowly took one glove off, today a short black leather pair, and stroked his cheek. "Becuase ah love yuh, stupid. An' ah wanna feel close to yuh. And mah head is all screwy, so ah don' feel like ah can do it in conventional ways."

Gambit pulled her against him, hands tightly around her waist, leaning his forehead against hers. "You didn' wanna be wit me Rogue. Not de other way around. An' I understand dat, an' I don' expect anything more den what you want. But y' not foolin' anyone with dis, and it hurts."

"Don't say it like that." She moaned, closing her eyes, but not moving an inch. "It's not that ah don' want yuh. Ah _do_. So, so badly. Being with you here has made me sure of that it's just-"

"Just what? Would you like me to list de usual suspects for you, or have you got something to add?"

Narrowing her eyes in response, she smacked him on the shoulder. "Christ, Gambit. Sometimes ah think ah could easily hate you. Fine. It's nothing new. So you have your sulk about that and ah'll have mine, an' then we can fall back into the same old routine we've always had."

"Things are different now-"

This was quite clearly the wrong thing to say. The next hit was not so gentle, and she growled and pulled herself away. "Oh yeah, ah forgot. How silly of me. Now _that_ problem," She raised her eyebrows exaggeratedly at him, "is out of the way, everything will be alright!"

"Is dat really what y' tink of me? Y' got a funny way of showing it, doing all dis."

"That's _exactly_ why ah'm doin' it!" Rogue shouted, pulling her hair and pacing. "Ah'm goin' out of mah mind, Remy. Ah don't know what tuh do, ah feel like that distance is all that keeps us like this, an' if ah give in we're gonna get _bored_. Ah'm gettin' sick of mah own excuses but ah'm terrified of quittin' hiding behind them. Ah- Ah... oh hell, ah don't know anymore."

Collapsing onto the kerb, she sat with her head in her hands. "Ah feel like this is a means to an end, Remy, and ah don't want that, ah want... ah want-"

"More den dat." He finished for her, arms still crossed, staring at a street lamp at the end of the road as it flickered on and off. "An' you tink you're de only one? Remy gettin' a strange sense of déjà vu_."_

"Gambit we tried havin' a normal life, remember? An' both ended up re-powered and kickin' ass for a hobby again. What's to say that don' happen again?" She looked up at him anxiously, but he still wouldn't meet her eyes. "We had a choice, an' some days ah regret the one ah made, but ah'd make it again, an' that thought bothers me."

There was silence for a while, punctuated only by the sounds of traffic and sirens in the distance. At length, he sighed heavily and sat beside her. "The choice aint de same as it used to be, cheré. It was one or de other, an' you're right, it didn' work dat way. But we don' have to pick, we don' have to compromise, any more."

"Remy, if this don't work out, ah don't know where we go from there. That frightens me, and ah can't walk away from yuh, but ah'm scared ah'll have to either way in the end."

With a shrug, he stood up, holding a hand out to her. "Don' know if y'don' try."

She bit her lip, a lump in her throat, but took his hand, pulling herself up.

"Not like you t' hesitate, petit. Had Gambit worried for a moment there."

"Get yoah ass back to that hotel 'fore ah decide yuh aint worth the drama." She scowled.

"One condition, cher."

"Just the one, sugah?"

"We goin' back to de base tomorrow. Y' bring Remy here one more time, he gonna go crazy."

Laughing, she linked arms with him and they began to walk on. "Yuh got yoahself a deal. 'Sides, the food in this place is terrible."

* * *

><p>Putting this as an end note because it's a bit too spoilerish for the chapter to go up there: the arguments are repetitive, and I hope that I've made why I think that is clear enough, but there shouldn't be too much more of that... they'll have other things on their mind before long, don't you worry!<p> 


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